One Death Day Only
by teampraetor
Summary: "Please, Nico. Let me dance with death for just one day only and I'll do anything-" Jason/Reyna. Cover art by Jovaline.


**One Death Day Only**

Summary: "Please, Nico. Let me dance with death for just one day only and I'll do anything-"

* * *

 _"She's too close to her destination, you've no hope of communication with her now._ _You weren't meant to have regained your memories of her anyway, not so soon," she had told him, with suppressed sobs fragmenting her words._

 _"After the final battle, then," he had replied to Venus, had looked her respectfully in the eyes long enough to see them shatter._ _"Afterwards I won't ever let her go. Not again."_

 _..._

Thrown accurately and from a close range, the spear pierces through her back and several layers of armour before Jason gets the chance to even move, breath, _think_ about saving her.

She's usually so methodical, logical and precise that he just can't comprehend how–

A memory of a torn praetor's cape and the fall of his best friend blocking a blow meant for him clouds his vision for a split second, and everything clicks into place. (The result horrifies him.)

The atmosphere around Jason turns static and his shout, "Reyna!" rips through the air like a tear in fabric, attracting everyone's momentary attention. Around them Greek and Roman demigods, united by the Athena Parthenos, are wielding various weapons used to slaughter the giants and enemies from Gaia's army. Scattered on the ground are bloodied bodies, and Jason's terrified that Reyna's going to soon enter into that category.

His assumption that the female praetor took someone's blow is proven correct when the son of Jupiter's eyes zero on a small figure a few meters behind Reyna. He sees now dirt matted strawberry blonde pigtails and a fringe no longer held back with butterfly clips spilling across the earth. But with the incoming onslaughts Jason doesn't have the time to watch as Julia sits up, doesn't have time to be relieved that her face is only marred by a small scratch across her left cheek, doesn't have time to watch the innocence be mercilessly stripped out of her as her grass green eyes land on the female praetor.

The remains of dead monsters scatter through the wind, but at the same time more and more and more unconscious demigods litter the floor as Jason struggles to make his way closer to his ex-co-praetor and Julia. Only a meter away now, he can see that the wound surrounding the protruding spear blossoms with a crimson colour that makes his vision swim.

As she crumples over, an arrow embeds itself into her thigh, and Jason barely has time to awkwardly avoid the spear and catch her before she hits the ground.

Despite Aurum and Argentum's best efforts to create a defensive circle around them, Jason honestly expects to be dead within a couple of minutes, because what kind of an amateur sword fighting idiot just drops his defences in the middle of war? This time round there's no Scipio. No safety. He wants to scream, because now their enemy is the very land that used to nourish them, and the more blood that is spilt across her rolling hills, the stronger she becomes.

But Jason finds that he's still around to feel the drastic drop in temperature and the rumbling quake beneath him that causes the ground to split around him, Reyna and Julia. At first he thinks that the blood is enough, that Gaia herself has come, but then skeletal armies crawl out of the darkness and Jason's in so much shock that he utters a silly yet honest thank you to Hades that Nico exists _and_ is his friend.

...

She doesn't make it. And following the closure of the Doors of Death, she most definitely won't make it back. The broken expression in Venus' glassy eyes suddenly makes sense to him.

He isn't given grieving time either, for following her death he's thrown back by the Roman public into the role of praetor, _her_ role of praetor, alongside Frank who, while an incredible fighter, strategist and a hero of war, has never had experience dealing with the piled duties and the stress and the sheer amount of paperwork.

Octavian died. At least there's that.

...

Jason's knuckles beat tunelessly on the door of Pluto's cabin. After receiving a quiet word from Gwen that Nico had returned from Camp Half Blood, he'd asked Frank to take the opportunity to introduce Hazel to the duties of being praetor and excused himself for the day.

Jason's honestly very grateful that Frank, one of the most thoughtful and hard-working people he's ever met, ruled Rome alongside him for the past few months. He had calmly taken on the responsibilities (and sometimes not so calmly, though Hazel was always there for him for that) and adjusted himself to the stressful lifestyle.

Despite the fact that the Romans would be more than happy to give Jason the full placement of praetor, the son of Jupiter had long ago decided that his position would only temporary. Long enough to put back the pieces and get the camp running again (and bury the dead and rebuild the barracks and stoically and emotionlessly repeat everything he's ever done with Reyna now without Reyna). It only makes sense that Hazel, a hero of war with an overall calming, sweet presence who relates so well with Frank, takes over his position. He has faith that together they will care for New Rome fairly.

The door cracks open a fraction, and then fully. Nico gestures for him to come inside, a pack of Mythomagic cards held loosely in his right hand. Funny, Jason thinks. He hadn't known he'd visited the son of Hades so many times between Nico's alternating camp visits that he knew to be ready with a pack of cards.

They settle on his bed, a bag of brownies Jason bought from New Rome between them; Nico's oddly fond of the things, and Jason guesses it's Reyna's influence, since he doesn't doubt that she'd have grabbed them from street vendors on passing, during her quest with Nico and Coach Hedge. She did with him.

Nico begins dealing the cards, and it's quiet, bar the slipping sound the cards make as they're individually pulled from the pack.

"You look like you've been in the underworld," Nico mutters as he waits for the blond to put down a card, which Jason thinks is ironic considering the question he's hoping to ask him.

"It hasn't exactly been soaring pegasi here." Jason doesn't expect much when he asks, "Camp Half Blood?"

"Most of its senior residents look like you."

His hands clench tightly around the cards, he hears a sigh, and then Nico's speaking again (softly, Jason notes, as if the son of Hades truly understands the significance of their quiet). "You can't expect anything more following two wars. The waiting room down in the underworld is jam packed and those living above ground are suffering the loss."

The blond flinches and places his card down. Here, lounging on piles of throw pillows and surrounded by the ethereal tones of the multitude of canopies Hazel draped around the room, Jason allows the mask of praetor to slip away.

"And Reyna?"

"Coping in Elysium." Jason notices that Nico doesn't specify how she's coping.

Five minutes later, two less brownies and the game won by Nico, Jason steels himself long enough to break the (comfortable, when they ignore the inevitable post-war tension) silence they've fallen into. "Is it possible to see her?" he blurts, fully expecting to be shot down. But all Nico does is stare thoughtfully at his cards, so Jason desperately chooses to tempt Fortuna. "Please, Nico. Let me dance with death for just one day only and I'll do anything-"

"Ok."

Jason's shuts up. Hesitantly, he asks, "What?"

Nico rolls his eyes, "I said okay; she'll be happy to see you. She never says it and she'll never ask, but she wants to see you too," but Jason sees past the pseudo-casualness to the pooling worry beneath the surface.

"When you said she's coping…?"

"Reyna's a little lost, Grace. She doesn't have responsibilities down in Elysium. Jasper-"

"The praetor before me?"

"Yeah, him. From my understanding, they were very close friends. Jasper's slowly coaxing her to relax and enjoy herself, but it'll take a while, Grace. It always does." Nico pauses, looking to the side. "I'd like to see her happy too, you know," he mumbles, and Jason smiles sadly. He doesn't know the details; Nico hasn't disclosed them yet, but he knows that during their journey with the Athena Parthenos, they became close. Too close, for her death to not be déjà vu of Bianca's. Nico had shit luck with family; members torn viciously away.

...

Jason shakes off the feeling of being doused in a cold bucket of water, something he's gathered is associated with shadow travelling, and concludes that nope, he won't get used to this particular method of transportation anytime soon.

He barely hears Nico tell him, "I'll be back in a few hours," as moments after regaining sense of his surroundings he's spotted her, walking quietly towards an old fountain.

"Reyna!" his shout slices through the air, so similarly to the day the spear protruded from her chest, and she barely has a split second to turn before he crashes into her arms, dragging them down to the ground. Jason barely registers their knees scraping painfully against the uneven path, his concentration focused instead on tracing her cheekbones, jaw line, and then cupping his hand around her neck to pull her into a kiss.

...

Hours that seem like minutes pass in a blur, and Jason's gently pulled out of her grasp far too quickly.

...

The following day the son of Jupiter adopts Julia as his sister, whose parents' lives were also ripped from her in the war.

* * *

 _a/n; thank you to 1oooW0rds for the support and encouragement. To my readers, please leave feedback; I'll read every one._


End file.
